by C.E. Wilson
Chapter One
The following morning Micah woke up feeling more confident than he had the night before, having spoken to Devony about the situation. He knew she would beg Orion to let him help with the tournament. His father had asked him about his eye and he had casually responded that he had been goofing around a bit too much with his friends. His father was in such a rush that he didn’t bother pressing him further.
“Do you need a ride?” he asked his son.
“No,” Micah said as he smoothed some longer pieces of his dark hair in front of his swollen eye.
“I can call the car around.”
“I’m fine. Archer’s picking me up.”
“Oh? I thought you didn’t care for him.”
“He’s alright. I’m getting a ride with him and Devony.”
“Why aren’t you taking your own car? You do realize that the tournament starts tonight, don’t you?”
“Yeah, Pops. I know all about the tournament. In case you’ve forgotten, I helped to plan it.”
“It’s a great opportunity for the school.”
“It’s a basketball tournament,” Micah said, rolling his eyes. “Go sports, go.”
Micah’s father looked at his son more closely, his glance falling over his black eye. “And you said that you were just goofing around with the guys last night?”
“Yes.”
“Should I call the doctor? I’m don’t mind stopping over there with you—”
“Just let it go, dad!” Micah said, brushing past him. “My ride’s here.”
“Behave yourself. It’s a big day for me...and the school.”
“I’ll try,” he said, shutting the door before his father could sneak in another word. Jogging towards Archer’s car, he heard the door unlock and he slid into the passenger seat. “Morning.”
“Good morning,” Archer grunted, backing out of the driveway as soon as the door shut. “How’d you sleep?”
“Terribly. I was so worried about what my dad was going to say about this shiner that I could barely keep my eyes closed.”
“Heh, from here it looks like one of them is nearly closed right now.”
“Shut up, Archer. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You brought it up,” Archer said with a shrug before his eyes shifted over to look at Micah. “Did you call Devony last night like I told you?”
“Yeah I did, and I have to say she was pretty understanding about the whole thing. I’m going to talk to her again today.”
“Ellie’s already at school,” Archer said. “Talk to her first.”
“Is Devony with her?”
“Probably, I don’t know. She picked up Devony for me this morning. I just needed a break from her.”
“It would have been convenient if you picked her up this morning. I could have talked to her in the car.”
“Just talk to Ellie when you see her,” Archer said, falling silent for the rest of the short trip to school. Turning the radio as high as his ears could stand, he hoped that Micah’s mind was busy at work. The guy looked terrible even if you didn’t consider the bluish mark hovering around his left eye. Archer wanted to smirk but he didn’t dare. He needed this plan to go smoothly.
Pulling into the lot, Archer smiled when he saw Ellie right at the side of the parking lot, smoking an electric cigarette. “I swear that girl has no shame,” he said. “I’ll drop you off here and you can walk her to the building and have your chat, alright? I have some things to take care of this morning.”
“I understand. Thanks again, Archer. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. I know you and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but you’ve always been there for me.”
Archer unlocked the door, jutting his chin outward. “Go, so you’re not late.”
Micah climbed out from the car and Archer pulled away to find a parking space. Ellie continued to puff delicately, blowing the water vapor into the cool air.
“Morning,” Ellie said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
“Good morning. I guess you know what happened last night?”
“I know as much as Archer decides to tell me,” Ellie said. “Come on, let’s walk.” Once the two had fallen into step walking towards the building, Ellie took another long drag off her cigarette. “I’m sorry to hear about the fight. If I had been there then I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened. Archer said that you called Dev last night?”
“I did.”
“Dev talked to me about it this morning and she’s planning to talk to Orion. You really shouldn’t have hit that guy, Micah. You know your father’s going to find out about it eventually, don’t you? Orion did what he did to show that he’s loyal to the school’s reputation before anything else.”
“I understand that, but—”
“Let me finish. While he can’t possibly let you help out with the tournament, I don’t think he has any plans to remove you from being his vice-president.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“I can’t say I’m totally sure, but I’d like to think even Orion wouldn’t go so far.”
“I still have to talk to Devony.”
“Again? Micah, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, you called her last night.”
“I need to talk to her face-to-face. She needs to see how desperate I am. I can’t get that across over the phone. You have to set it up so I can talk to her again.”
Ellie rolled her eyes before taking a final long drag off her e-cigarette and tucking it into her bag. “I don’t like it. If you spend too much time talking to her, Orion may get the wrong idea.”
“But he won’t talk to me!” Micah said, reaching out and grabbing her shoulders. “Ellie, you have to give me a chance to talk to her alone. I have to clear this up. Before tonight if possible.”
“You’re asking a lot.”
“I know I am and that’s why I trust you to help me.”
She shook her head in disagreement but she couldn’t deny that he looked frantic. “Alright,” she relented, shrugging out of his grasp. “I’m sure I can find a place for you two to talk.”
“Thank you! Thanks so much, Ellie!” Micah said, ignoring her discomfort and pulling her into a hug. “I can’t thank you enough!”
“Just don’t make me regret it.”
